India have named a 17-member squad for the first two test matches of the Australia series. The series will start from February 9 at Nagpur. Rohit Sharma returns to the side after a thumb injury that ruled him out of the Bangladesh series.
Ishan Kishan received a maiden call-up to the national side and is the second wicketkeeper in the side. He is most likely picked up to fulfill the role of Rishabh Pant to attack the spinners and score quickly. Kishan is the only left-hander in the squad who could bat in the top 6. He has scored 2985 runs from 48 first-class at an average of 38.76 including 6 hundreds and 16 fifties. KS Bharat is likely to make a debut in this series as he has been in the side for a long time and has been a backup for Rishabh Pant.
Suryakumar Yadav is also selected in the squad with his in-form Mumbai teammate Sarfaraz Khan not getting selected. Sarfaraz has done everything under his control to get a place in the Indian squad but yet has not been rewarded with the results.
Jaydev Unadkat has retained his place in the squad after an impressive performance in the Bangladesh series. Mohammad Shami has returned to the side after the injury. Siraj, Umesh, Unadkat, and Shami are the four pacers in the squad.
The return of Jadeja is a massive boost to the Indian side. Kuldeep, Ashwin, Axar, and Jadeja are the four frontline spinners for India.
India’s squad
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav
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